The two stranded NASA astronauts have just extended their space mission again. That means they won’t return to Earth until the spring, 10 months after launching into orbit in Boeing’s Starliner capsule.
NASA announced the latest delay in Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams‘ back home on Tuesday.
The two test pilots were scheduled to be out for only a week or so when they left June 5 on Boeing’s first astronaut flight to the International Space Station. Their mission grew from eight days to eight months after NASA decided to send the company’s troubled Starliner capsule empty in September.
Now the pair won’t return until late March or even April because of a delay in the launch of their replacements, according to NASA.
A new crew must launch before Wilmore and Williams can return, and the next mission is more than a month away, according to the space agency.
NASA’s next crew of four was due to launch in February, followed by Wilmore and Williams return home later this month along with two other astronauts. But SpaceX needs more time to prepare the new capsule for liftoff. Now, that release is scheduled for the end of March.
NASA said it considered using a different SpaceX capsule to bring the replacement crew up in order to keep the flights on schedule. But he decided the best option was to wait for the new capsule to carry the next crew.
According to officials, NASA prefers to have overlapping crews on the space station for a smoother transition.
Most space station missions last six months, with some lasting a full year.
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